An Il-76 plane in the Belgorod region was shot down with the help of Patriot, sources confirm to the New York Times.
Before this, the Russian side announced the use of Patriot. According to Russian authorities, 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were transported in it for exchange, so the exchange planned for January 24 failed. Anonymous sources The New York Times (paid access) confirmed the defeat of the Il-76 by the Patriot system.
Ukraine neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane. According to NYT sources, the allegations about the use of Patriot are true, it was provided by one of the US allies.
However, what in airplane There were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and all of them allegedly died, American sources do not confirm. They didn’t check who was on the plane. They admit both that there could be prisoners of war on it, and that the Russian side may exaggerate their number.
In general, American officials believe that the Ukrainian military may have shot down the plane based on faulty intelligence. In the past, the aircraft was used to transport missiles, making it a legitimate target. They noted writes The Air Force did not criticize the Ukrainian military for such use of the Patriot system. In general, they advised hitting targets deep in the rear of Russian troops.
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